Search Results (7)

Japanese green teas, including matcha, sencha, and gyokuro, are derived from the leaves of Camellia sinensis and contain bioactive compounds such as catechins, caffeine, and amino acids, notably theanine. However, the amounts and ratios of these components vary significantly depending on the harvest season, cultivar, and cultivation practices. Matcha products on the market range widely in quality, from high-grade ceremonial products to lower-quality powders. In sencha, compositional profiles differ not only according to harvest timing but also according to infusion conditions such as water temperature and steeping time. Gyokuro, a premium shaded tea, is a type of green tea with a particularly high theanine content, just like authentic matcha. The compositional differences are expected to influence the physiological and psychological functions of green tea. For instance, the stress-relieving effects of theanine are modulated not only by its concentration but also by its interactions with coexisting compounds such as caffeine and catechins. Similarly, the bioavailability and physiological activities of catechins may be altered by coexisting theanine and caffeine. This narrative review focuses on compositional variability and interactions among major bioactive compounds in Japanese green tea and discusses how these factors may influence their functional properties. Full article

Matcha, a finely powdered green tea, has been cherished in Japan for centuries, used in the traditional tea ceremony and nowadays also valued for its health-promoting properties. Cultivated under shaded conditions to enhance chlorophyll production, which gives the typical vibrant green color, matcha is rich in important bioactive compounds, including caffeine, catechins, and theanine. This study analyzes three matcha grades—ceremonial grade 1 (G1), grade 4 (G4), and food grade (FG)—to assess variations in their metabolite profiles. The Bligh–Dyer method was employed to extract polar and non-polar metabolites from organic and hydroalcoholic phases. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) was used for qualitative metabolite analysis, while nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Results reveal a decreasing gradient of amino acids and caffeine from grade 1 to food grade, while other metabolites, such as polyphenols, display an increasing trend. These findings suggest that factors such as harvesting time and leaf maturity significantly influence matcha’s chemical composition, providing a scientific basis for its quality differentiation and potential nutraceutical uses. Full article

Between 1871 and 1969, Native Americans (American Indians) endured the U.S. Federal Indian Boarding School system, while Chinese Americans faced enduring impacts from the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882–1943). Drawing on historical sources, this paper examines literary works by and about Native Americans and Chinese Americans, focusing on their sufferings under forced isolation policies. Through works like Ceremony and Gardens in the Dunes by Leslie Marmon Silko and Eat a Bowl of Tea by Louis Chu, this study illustrates how systematic oppression, characterized by erasure of cultural identity, manifested through institutions such as “boarding school” and “bachelor society”. It explores how forced policies (like assimilation and isolation) and institutional oppression, through cultural erasure and the severing of family ties, dismantled family structures, weakened cultural transmission, and led to identity crises, inter-generational alienation, and psychological trauma in marginalized communities. These ethnic narratives not only document histories of oppression but also highlight the ethnic groups’ resilience and their efforts to reconstruct multicultural identity through cultural heritage and community ties under multifaceted pressures. Full article

Methods based on deep learning have achieved great success in the field of video action recognition. When these methods are applied to real-world scenarios that require fine-grained analysis of actions, such as being tested on a tea ceremony, limitations may arise. To promote the development of fine-grained action recognition, a fine-grained video action dataset is constructed by collecting videos of tea ceremony actions. This dataset includes 2745 video clips. By using a hierarchical fine-grained action classification approach, these clips are divided into 9 basic action classes and 31 fine-grained action subclasses. To better establish a fine-grained temporal model for tea ceremony actions, a method named TSM-ConvNeXt is proposed that integrates a TSM into the high-performance convolutional neural network ConvNeXt. Compared to a baseline method using ResNet50, the experimental performance of TSM-ConvNeXt is improved by 7.31%. Furthermore, compared with the state-of-the-art methods for action recognition on the FineTea and Diving48 datasets, the proposed approach achieves the best experimental results. The FineTea dataset is publicly available. Full article

The inquiry into whether food can be classified as “art” has long been a subject of debate. From its roots tracing back to Plato, this question has attracted the attention of both artistic movements and philosophers, especially throughout the twentieth century. In this paper, I aim to revisit this contentious issue by exploring the realm of pastry making as a form of art. Within the broader discourse on this topic, pastry emerges as a distinctive medium. Since sweets have historically transcended their mere nutritive functions, pastry may establish an immediate connection between art and food. Simultaneously, it reiterates the persistent challenges of encompassing the edible domain within conventional aesthetic theories. Throughout various contexts and periods, confectionery has evolved through the reproduction or imitation of visual arts, often reflecting the prevailing artistic climate of its flourishing periods. Moreover, due to its intimate association with rituals and celebratory occasions, pastry carries a profound cognitive and metaphorical framework that enhances its expressive potential, capturing the attention of many artists. By exploring the intersection of pastry and various artistic genres, drawing on illustrative examples ranging from modern European pièce montées to American cake design and Japanese wagashi, I critically examine the possibility and potential aesthetic qualities of this marginal genre, thereby opening up broader inquiries into the loose categorizations and fluctuations within the intricate domain of art. Full article

This paper explores the perspective on peace-making of the contemporary Chinese Buddhist monk Jinghui 淨慧 (1933–2013), whose views have garnered esteem among Chinese Buddhists but have received limited attention from scholars. Jinghui introduced the notion of “Life Chan”, emphasizing the inseparable nature of Buddhist practice and daily living. Building on this concept, he emphasizes that it is incumbent upon Buddhists to remain attentive to a range of real-world issues, among which war and peace loom large as subjects deserving of special focus. In accordance with the principles of Chinese Buddhism regarding the nature of the mind, he posits that wars and conflicts on the global stage stem primarily from the mind, with external societal influences acting as secondary triggers. Therefore, he proposes that the cornerstone of establishing worldwide peace rests in purifying the mind by means of a variety of Buddhist practices. By drawing upon Chinese Chan literatures, he introduces a novel and distinct method to facilitate worldwide peace—a tea ceremony imbued with Chan philosophy. Jinghui claims that such an approach, by nurturing individual peace, will ultimately lead to collective harmony across the globe. Full article

Ayahuasca is a beverage consumed at shamanic ceremonies and currently has gained popularity on recreational scenarios. It contains beta-carboline alkaloids and N,N-dimethyltryptamine, which possesses hallucinogenic effects. Only a few studies have elicited the psychoactive effects and the dose of such compounds on neurological dopaminergic cells or animals. In this work, we aimed to study the cytotoxic effects of these compounds present in ayahuasca beverages and on five different teas (Banisteriopsis caapi, Psychotria viridis, Peganum harmala, Mimosa tenuiflora and Dc Ab (commercial name)) preparations on dopaminergic immortalized cell lines. Moreover, a characterization of the derivative alkaloids was also performed. All the extracts were characterized by chromatographic systems and the effect of those compounds in cell viability and total protein levels were analyzed in N27 dopaminergic neurons cell line. This is the first article where cytotoxicity of ayahuasca tea is studied on neurological dopaminergic cells. Overall, results showed that both cell viability and protein contents decreased when cells were exposed to the individual compounds, as well as to the teas and to the two mixtures based on the traditional ayahuasca beverages. Full article